To My New NCCF Family House Members (9)



Hello Jesus Corper,

Gracious greetings to you.

As one who has been inclined to service and leadership all through my school days and was privileged by grace to bear such mantle also in NCCF, I understand that the health of a fellowship depends largely on the attitude of members to leadership. ‘Strike the shepherd’, said Jesus, ‘And the sheep will scatter.’ This is one reason I’m making great emphasis on relating rightly to leadership.

Practically speaking, leadership is a delicate subject and I started highlighting this at the close of my previous epistle. It is delicate to stand between God and man! To strike the balance between authority and servant leadership is not easy, especially when a mind is closed; so as you read, please open your heart and trust God to broaden your perspective.

Perhaps, a more pathetic point to note in this regard is that leaders sacrifice in ways you don’t know. There is much demand on their time, health, finance, emotional and spiritual reserves, as well as other resources. They engage in ‘silent labours’ as any mention of their efforts behind the scene could be mistaken for selfish boasts to gain public approval.

Notwithstanding this, they are often criticized and confronted from uninformed dispositions. And sometimes, rather than defend themselves, the best they do is to mourn with silence the ignorance of their critics while their speechlessness is mistaken for guiltiness or manipulation. Then they resort to joyless meditations and tearful prayers.

I do not mean to say that leaders are perfect in knowledge and deeds. No, they are not and will never be. In fact, just as the head cannot do without the body, they cannot do without you. They need the service you can render; they need the information you can offer. They need you!

But when issues arise, let your passion be tempered with humility. Personally, I think that when Peter called on us to be submissive to our leaders and cast all of our cares on God, he implied that our cares include the issues that might arise from submitting to leadership when the odds are against it; we are to cast such cares on God, not to take laws to our own hands. Interestingly, your ability to obey that vital instruction is a measure of your spiritual maturity – not just the fervency of your prayer and study of the Bible.

But above all, always remember that while you can choose your residency status – to stay in the family house or not – you cannot choose your leaders, for NCCF leaders are not elected; they are appointed, and their leadership is ordained by God. The best you can do is to submit to them in the fear of God. If you so do, you will not miss your reward, no matter what.

Jesus said that if you give water to a prophet, you reap a prophet’s reward. That means a positive attitude in service to leadership secures for you the same reward as that of the leaders you serve. So you realize that you don’t need a position to lead, but you definitely need to be submissive to leadership to be reckoned as a leader in the kingdom of God.

I want to encourage you to be that kind of follower that your leader’s heart remembers with joy and blesses every moment. So begin from your knees; pray for your leaders; submit to them and serve them.

God is counting on you to uphold the sceptre of power.

Reach me if you have any questions and feel free to share this epistle.

Warm regards,
Bright Ukwenga,
2015/2016 General Secretary,
NCCF Bauchi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To My New NCCF Family House Members (7)

Image
Hello Jesus Corper, Gracious greetings to you. By now you know that if you merely couched to endure the regimentation of the NYSC Camp with the intent that you will be free from such once you get into the NCCF Family house, you are wrong. As a matter of fact, there are perhaps more rules and regulations in the Family House than there are at the Camp which you came from. Many Jesus Corpers have often argued that the family house ought to be free from such rules, because we are no longer under the law but under grace; moreover, rules merely make us shallow and religious rather than authentic in our dealings with God and man. While I might agree partially with them, I have a better understanding and posture of heart, given my first-hand experience of living in the family house and being the chief enforcer of compliance to the rules during my tenure there. It is therefore a noble intent for me in this epistle to enlighten you as well as guide you to effective use of the rules, i
Read more

To My New NCCF Family House Members (8)

Image
Hello Jesus Corper, Gracious greetings to you. Indeed I always feel blessed to write to you, and my joy has been on constant increase ever since. I want you to know that for us as Senior Friends of the Family, you are our pride, the crown of our labours during our respective tenures in NCCF. In my previous epistle, I wrote to furnish you with understanding of the essence of rules in NCCF Family House. And most times, where rules exist, we expect to have ‘rulers’ who uphold the rules by exemplifying and enforcing compliance to them. They are the ones against whom we measure ourselves. In our own setting, we refer to them as leaders, and categorize them according to their differing levels of responsibility; and to them we ascribe great honour and respect. These Leaders are Jesus Corpers like you and necessarily so, in order for them to relate with your peculiar experiences as Christian Corps members; and hence, to be considerate enough when upholding the rules among you. But
Read more

Your First Advantage in the Corridors of Power

Image
Last week, I facilitated an insightful session on leadership for a crop of next-generation leaders and one of the remarkable things I told them is that “ confidence is not a derivative of your competence or status but the knowledge of your value .” If confidence was dependent on competence, then the most talented and skilful people would be the most confident. But we have seen very skilful people who are shy even when it comes to unbundling their potential before others. There are even people with natural endowments like facial beauty and attractive features who are nervous in the company of other people. On the other hand, some people are less endowed with facial beauty and abilities who are confident of expressing themselves anywhere. Some other people are confident despite their low economic and social status. No wonder, it is not the best guy that gets promoted – it is the guy who confidently forms significant relationships that walks himself into the corridors of po
Read more